Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Please join us as Al Gini, Professor of Business Ethics, Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago, discusses his new book The Importance of Being Funny: Why We Need More Jokes in Our Lives.
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Reception preceding the lecture at 5:30 PM with refreshments provided by Alumni Relations.
Book signing to follow.

Please join us as Al Gini, Professor of Business Ethics, Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago, discusses his new book The Importance of Being Funny: Why We Need More Jokes in Our Lives.

Humor can act as both a sword and shield to defend and protect us against life. Humor can, at times, detox if not completely explain some of the unsolvable mysteries of life. And, humor can help us address some of the immediate nagging problems we wrestle with day to day. Humor may not be able to provide definitive answers, but it can arrest and defang our uncertainty. I am convinced that laughter offers perspective, reinforces our humanity, and encourages hope. Humor may not be a cure for all life’s problems but it can be a helpful anesthesia. My attempt will be to offer a serious presentation on humor that is also seriously funny!

Please join us for a conversation with Spencer Reece, American poet and Episcopalian priest, who spent two years in Honduras teaching poetry to the girls of Our Little Roses, a home for girls who lost family due to poverty. The interview will be moderated by Jane Bunker, Director of Northwestern University Press, distributor of the book. Reception sponsored by Loyola Alumni Relations at 6:30 p.m. and program at 7 p.m. RSVPs encouraged.

On November 8, 2017 (prior to the Speaker Series) we will be screening the film Voices Beyond the Wall. Synopsis: Rescued from the streets of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, “Murder Capital of the World,” orphaned girls find their voices in poetry as they heal traumas of their past and prepare to transition into an uncertain future.

Dr. Helena Pycior, Professor Emerita of the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, will discuss how Marie Skłodowska Curie, renowned scientist and twice Nobel Prize winner, became known as the “healer of cancer.” Curie was named an Honorary Member of Polish Women’s Alliance in 1921, and the organization helped fund her research.

About the Speaker
Shortly after receiving her Ph.D. in the History of Science from Cornell University, Helena Pycior became fascinated with Marie Skłodowska Curie and began a decades-long pursuit of Curie as a scientist, woman, and symbol. Dr. Pycior has published four essays on Curie, as well as books and articles on the history of algebra, spousal collaboration in science, and presidential pets.

Entrepreneur, writer, and lecturer Jay R. Tunney brings to life the “odd couple” friendship between his father, world heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney, and the Nobel laureate playwright George Bernard Shaw. The evening will include an introduction by Elliott J. Gorn, PhD, Joseph A. Gagliano Chair in American Urban History, Loyola University Chicago. Following the program, Mr. Tunney will sign copies of his book, The Prizefighter and the Playwright: Gene Tunney and Bernard Shaw.

Light refreshments will be served and are courtesy of Loyola Alumni Relations.

This program is presented in collaboration with The Clare.

Following his graduation from Stanford University in 1962, Jay R. Tunney had two careers: as an entrepreneur businessman in Asia where he explored for oil in Burma, owned a cargo ship in Hong Kong, plus founding the first premium ice cream chain of restaurants in South Korea. Through writing articles for the Asian Wall Street Journal, the New York Times Business Magazine and a dozen other Asian and U.S. publications, Jay was able to describe for readers his unique pioneering experiences in Asia.

His second career was as a writer and lecturer of his father, heavyweight boxing champion, Gene Tunney (1926-1928). In 2000 he co-wrote and presented a BBC worldwide radio program describing the friendship between his father and Nobel laureate playwright, George Bernard Shaw that aired to millions of people. This was followed by the publication of Tunney’s book, The Prizefighter and the Playwright, Gene Tunney and Bernard Shaw which received excellent reviews internationally, notably from The Times (of London) Literary Supplement, The New York Times, The Irish Times, the Associated Press and Amazon.

]]>http://blogs.lib.luc.edu/friends/2016/12/01/speaker-series-shaw-vs-tunney/feed/02016 Race to the White House: Speaker Series (photos)http://blogs.lib.luc.edu/friends/2016/11/29/2016-race-to-the-white-house-speaker-series-photos/
http://blogs.lib.luc.edu/friends/2016/11/29/2016-race-to-the-white-house-speaker-series-photos/#respondTue, 29 Nov 2016 20:33:20 +0000http://blogs.lib.luc.edu/friends/?p=1542On November 7, 2016 the Loyola University Libraries welcomed Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, PhD for the Friends of the Loyola Libraries Speaker Series: 2016 Race to the White House: Its Highs, Lows, and Historical Precedents. She discussed the highs and lows of the 2016 election to consider how unprecedented this unforgettable race was and how it might be remembered. For complete details on the event, please visit 2016 Race to the White House: Speaker Series. Additional photos from the event can be viewed on Loyola University Chicago Libraries Flickr.

For thousands of years, libraries have been at the heart of the academic enterprise. When you become a member of the Friends of the Loyola University Chicago Libraries you sustain that age-old tradition and propel it into the modern age. As Past President of the Friends and a member of the faculty, I know that your support for our libraries makes it possible to provide our students, faculty and alumni with the best resources available. This, in turn, enables them to contribute to the world’s store of knowledge, compete for employment or enrich their lives as full members of the global community of learning.

Participation in our group provides you with opportunities to meet people who share an interest in and enthusiasm for learning, books, libraries and reading. It also helps foster an understanding of and appreciation for all of Loyola University Chicago’s libraries and their special collections. We encourage you to join us as we aspire to provide a gateway to the world of information and scholarship.

Robert Bucholz, D.Phil.; F.R.Hist.S.
Professor of History
Past President, Friends of the Loyola University Chicago Libraries

Focus on the Book
In this age of e-books and e-readers, the word “book” has taken on new meanings. Yet the book in its printed form endures and is highly sought after by the general public, libraries, and book collectors. This lecture series has been created to celebrate the book in print, its form, function, and beauty, its historical importance and lasting nature. Come celebrate with us a “technology” that has been around since Johannes Gutenberg.

Dr. Stephen Enniss is Director of the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. He has held previous appointments at the Folger Shakespeare Library and at Emory University’s Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library. His research interests are in twentieth century poetry, and he has written on Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath, and Seamus Heaney, among other figures. He co-curated the award-winning Grolier Club exhibition “No Other Appetite”: Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, and the Blood Jet of Poetry. He is past recipient of a Leverhulme Fellowship from the University of London, and he is the author of After the Titanic: A Life of Derek Mahon (Gill and Macmillan, 2014). He is currently at work on a collective biography of the Belfast Group poets.

This event is co-sponsored by the Newberry Library.
Photo courtesy of Pete Smith.

Marianne Ryan, Dean of Libraries at Loyola University Chicago
and David Spadafora, President of the Newberry Library

cordially invite you to the fourth annual
FOCUS ON THE BOOK
a lecture by and for bibliophiles, featuring

Stephen Enniss, PhD
Director, Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin

Were the 2016 election’s gaffes, one-liners, and memorable moments historical firsts or repeats from the past? Please join us as we welcome Dr. Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, assistant professor of history at Loyola University Chicago, who will take us through the highs and lows to consider how unprecedented this unforgettable race has been and how it might be remembered.

Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, PhD has written extensively about American politics in books, articles, and blogs. She is currently working on a book about the origins of and politics behind the student loan industry, tentatively titled: Indentured Students.

Following the presentation, Dr. Shermer will sign copies of her books Sunbelt Capitalism: Phoenix and the Transformation of American Politics and Barry Goldwater and the Remaking of the American Political Landscape.

Reservations are encouraged. Please register here or contact Nicole Brodsky at 773.508.2616 for more information.

Originally founded as the Library Book Club in 2000 by the University Libraries, we changed our name once in 2005 to Library Speaker Series. With the start of the 2010 academic year, we have changed names once more to Friends of the Loyola Libraries Speaker Series. Our aim is to involve Friends of the Library, current Loyolans, alumni, and other Chicagoans in stimulating conversations about recently published works. Speakers include Loyola faculty and alumni, prominent Chicago authors, and other special guests.

The Library Speaker Series would like to showcase the talents of our fellow Loyolans. If you would like to be considered for a future talk or would like to be added to the e-mail list, which provides updates to the event schedule, please contact Svetlana Surkevicius at esurkevicius@LUC.edu or 773.508-2641.

Dr. Joe Janes
February 7, 2002, 3:00 pm
Discussed the book: The Evolution of the Book by Frederick Kilgour
Room 160, Maguire Hall, Water Tower Campus

Dr. Al Gini
Wednesday, February 20, 2002, 6:00 pm
Discussed his book: My Job, Myself: Work and the Creation of the Modern Individual
Rubloff Auditorium, Water Tower Campus

Dr. Barbara Rosenwein
Wednesday, March 20, 2002
Discussed her book: A Short History of the Middle Ages
Rubloff Auditorium, 25 East Pearson, Water Tower Campus

Dr. Connie Fletcher
Wednesday April 17, 2002, 6:00 pm
Discussed her book: What Cops Know: Cops Talk about What They Do, How They Do It and What It Does to Them
Rubloff Auditorium, 25 East Pearson, Water Tower Campus

On April 7, 2016 the Loyola University Libraries presented: Troubadour for Our Times? A Panel Discussion on the Relevance of Carl Sandburg for Millennial Chicago featuring panelists Melissa Bradshaw (Department of English, Loyola University Chicago), Tony Fitzpatrick (artist, poet, and actor), and Bill Savage (Department of English, Northwestern University) and moderated by Robert Bucholz (Chair, Department of History, Loyola University Chicago). Complete event details can be found on the Libraries’ blog Noteworthy, and photos can be viewed on the Libraries’ Flickr.